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Kent State went by the book in hunt for leader

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Sunday May 25, 2014 7:48 AM

The success of Kent State University’s recent presidential search is already being felt across
the region as Beverly J. Warren prepares to assume her new role in July, yet articles about the
completed search process have misled the public’s perception of how and why we reached our decision
(“Operating in the dark,”
Dispatch editorial, April 19).

No laws have been broken and no public records have been shredded. We followed an approach that
has been mirrored by other research universities across the country and Ohio with consistent and
successful results. The university has released more than 500 pages of documents in response to
records requests.

The cost of the search is comparable to those of other presidential searches conducted by
research universities. To ensure we complied with all legal requirements, our general counsel
instructed the board and the search committee about their duties and responsibilities under state
law, all of which were followed scrupulously. The responsibility for hiring the president rests
solely with the board of trustees.

The trustees directed that this search should seek input from as many members of our community
as possible. Board members held numerous meetings and forums with our stakeholders to seek their
guidance. We invited leaders from academia, students, administration, alumni and the community at
large to participate in our 17-member Presidential Search Committee.

The search committee brought great professionalism to the task, and the group’s signing of a
confidentiality agreement is considered a best practice in executive searches. It allows for
comfortable, open dialogue. Further, committee members can make or discard notes kept for their
personal use, because they are not a public record under Ohio law.

A review of similar searches and the advice of professionals overwhelmingly convinced the board
that the quality of candidates for our presidency would be directly related to the confidentiality
afforded to their interest.

Kent State wasn’t the only university in the country or in Ohio seeking a successful leader to
take charge. When it comes to courting a top executive, timing and approach are critical. The
trustees believe the quality of the outcome of the search is a testament to the deliberations and
the process we followed.